Installation Instructions Provided by PartSelect customers like you.

377 of 399 people found this instruction helpful

Parts Used

Defrost Heater Harness Kit

Level of DifficultyEasy

Time to do repair:15 - 30 mins

ToolsScrew drivers

CustomerStuart from Lynchburg VA

Defrost heater blows out, refrigerator frosts up, then stops cooling

Disclaimer - if you aren't confident about doing this repair, call a repair specialist in. Also, take care not to damage the freezer coils as they have refrigerant in them that I'm told is harmful if it leaks. It may also be under pressure. The instructions that follow won't require you to touch the coils. There is no need to unplug the refrigerator or disconnect the water supply to do this repair. The screw driver you will need is a phillips (the one withe the + head).

1st, take out your frozen food (which, if you need to do this repair may not be frozen) and put it in a cooler or the refrigerator.2nd, remove the ice cube bucket and dump the ice cubes in the cooler to help keep the frozen food cool. Turn the ice cube maker off.3rd, remove the freezer shelves.4th, locate the panel covering the freezer coils. It's a panel at the back of the freezer. It hides the freezer coils and protects them from damage. It's held in place by two screws located at the top left and right corners of the panel.5th, unscrew the screws holding the panel to the refrigerator.6th, detach the clip at the top of the panel.7th, remove the panel. You should see the coils now. The coils will be covered in frost if the defroster heater has failed. If the coils are not covered in frost, there may be another reason for the refrigerator failing to cool.8th, even if the coils are covered in frost, you should also inspect the defroster heater at the bottom, underneath the coils. The business end of it is a long tube running horizontally between two wires. If it's black like a badly burned out light bulb, then it's failed. If the bulb appears fine, you may have a different reason for your refrigerator and freezer frosting up. We'll assume that the defroster heater has blown out, and proceed.9th, place a towel at the bottom of the panel space, to soak up any water that melts and runs down. There is a drain under the coils. It collects water that melts during the defrost cycle, but I'd rather mop up the water instead of relying on the drain.10th, use hot air blowing from the hair dryer to defrost the coils. Just play the air from the hair dryer over the coils, starting at the top, and working down. The frost will quickly melt and the water will be soaked up by the towels. If you want things to go faster, you can throw hot water on the coils to melt them faster, but that produces more water to mop up, and makes a big mess. It's also dangerous to have water lying around if you then decide to use the hair dryer to continue defrosting the coils.11th. MOST IMPORTANT. Don't use your screwdriver or any other sharp object to pick away at the frost on the coils. If you damage the coils the refrigerant could leak out. I'm told that it's dangerous stuff. Furthermore, I expect that you'd have to buy a new refrigerator if you damaged the coils.12th, once you've defrosted the coils, locate the defroster heater and bracket assembly again. It's held in place by two screws, and has two insulated wires running into it on either side. Unscrew the screws, disconnect the wires and remove the assembly. Throw it away - there are no useful parts in it.13th, install the new defroster heater and bracket assembly by connecting the wires to it, mounting it back into its place, and rescrewing the screws.14th, put the panel back in place, replace the clip, and screw the panel back in place.15th, turn the ice cube maker back on and replace the ice cube bucket and shelves. Put your food back into the freezer.16th, use the freezer and refrigerator as normal. If the defroster heater fails again (I'm on my third one in less than six years), you'll notice frost building up on the panel at the back of the freezer before your freezer and refrigerator stops cooling. The frost build up is your signal to defrost the freezer and buy another defroster heater and bracket assembly. I don't know why this part is so weak, and don't know any fix except to keep replacing it.

369 of 393 people found this instruction helpful

Parts Used

Ice box and freezer would not get cold,the back wall of the freezer was covered with ice

1. I had to defrost the ice off of the back wall of the freezer with a blowdryer.2. Removed the four 1/4'' screws and removed the back panel.3. Defrosted all of the ice off the coils and heater.4. I replaced the defrost thermostat and heater by following the directions that came with them. The directions are very clear and easy to follow. I had a single element heater, and the replacement was a double element, the directions even explained how to rearrange the wires to make it work. The whole job only really consisted of cutting two wires that are color coded on the thermostat and resplicing the new ones in. I used scotch locks and electrical tape for the splices. The element had connectors on it so I just removed two screws, unplugged two wires and plugged them on the new one.The greatest thing about this repair was that I troubleshot the problem using the PartSelect website, ordered the parts and they arrived at my house in less than 24 hours.Thank You.

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61 of 64 people found this instruction helpful

Parts Used

Defrost Heater Harness Kit

Level of DifficultyReally easy

Time to do repair:15 - 30 mins

ToolsNutdriver, Screw drivers

CustomerBrian from Cary NC

The back of my freezer section was covered with ice.

1. Important: First you will need to prepare for water from melted ice. Plug the drain hole in the bottom rear of the freezer. Have plenty of rags near by. A pan or small bucket is helpful.

2. Unplug refrigerator

3. Remove (4) screws (2) w/screwdriver and (2) w/nut driver. You can remove the light cover to get it out of the way but you don't have to.

4. Remove the evaporator cover (The rear wall)

5. Melt and remove any ice build up. Remember those rags?

6. Remove (2) screws from the heater bracket

7. Remove the failed heater. My old heater was a single element. The new heater was a dual element. This made no difference.

8. Disconnect (2) wires.

9. Re-route and reconnect (2) wires. The wires were re-routed because the new heater has both wires on the same side. Not a problem.

first I removed shelves, bottom drawer, one drawer slide. then removed plastic cover from inside, light bulb, removed two screws from back panel (inside refrigerator, removed panel. You will see heater towards bottom. Remove screws (2) that hold heater in place, disconnect wires from heater, thermostat isattached to line just above where heater is attached.You will find that is quicker to cut thermostat wire, then splice together with wire nut. reassemble in reverse order. To check ice door, you must remove inner door panel, mine had to selenoid rusted and locked up. Removed , cleaned, reinstalledm worked ok. Hope this helps someone. Thank you partselect from your good service!

35 of 39 people found this instruction helpful

Parts Used

Fridge and freezer would no longer cool (coils iced over)

First I posted the symptoms on appliance repair forum. Within a very short amount of time, an expert responded with suggestions (that ended up being right on!) and links to How-to articles, diagrams, and the correct parts catalog. They diagnosed it as a failed defrost heater or a bad defrost thermostat that caused the heater to go bad.

I removed all the food from the freezer, removed the shelving and ice maker tray, then removed the back panel (nut driver). The coils were severely iced over. I let the coils defrost (didn't take long in the summer heat). The water from the melted ice completely saturated about two full size bath towels. DO NOT let the coils drain into the normal drain hole. Then I removed the defrost heater (2 screws) and the glass element was dark and cloudy like a burnt-out light bulb.

I placed my order on Parts Select with normal priority shipping. The defrost thermostat was listed as in-stock and the defrost heater was listed as "on order". Both parts arrived 4 days later. The thermostat was a genuine GE part and the heater was a universal aftermarket. My original was a single element heater and the replacement was dual element. The wiring was slightly different, but they included instructions on how to wire up the dual element. The heater wires had to be re-routed and extended (wire cutting, stripping, and crimping are required). The extra length of wire and the wire crimp connector were included with the replacement heater. I also (per the instructions) sealed the crimp connector with RTV sealant. After completing the wiring, I re-attached the heater using the 2 factory screws. Then I had to cut the thermostat wires and splice in using wire nuts (not included) and RTV to seal the connection (not included).

Then I re-attached the back panel using the factory screws and attached the grounding clamp. I installed the shelves and ice maker tray and started the unit. It has been running fine for two weeks now.

The overall repair experience was fantastic. This fridge is only 3 years old and has broken twice in the last year costing me over $500 in food (total for both failures). I also bought a chest freezer last year when the fridge failed the first time. That minimized my frozen food loss this year. The failure last summer was the controller board. I paid the GE technician to come out and fix that because I did not know about this website. I am an engineer and I much prefer the DIY approach, especially when they make it so easy on this website to diagnose and get the right parts.

My only complaints (and they are so minor that complaint might be too harsh of a word) are:The repair was easy, but would have been significantly easier if they had supplied a direct replacement single element heater.I wish they would have included the RTV sealant in the repair kit. I happened to have it, but I have to imagine that not everybody will and they won't know that they need it until they read the instructions.The replacement dual element heater was slightly wider and thus a slightly tighter fit than the original equipment.Lastly (and this really is no big deal). I got my "Order Shipped" e-mail 6 days after the parts had arrived.

Overall 2 thumbs up!

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27 of 28 people found this instruction helpful

Parts Used

Defrost Heater Harness Kit

Level of DifficultyReally easy

Time to do repair:15 - 30 mins

ToolsNutdriver

CustomerDavid from West Palm Beach FL

Frost builds up in freezer section and refrigerator stops working slowly. Manually defrost for 24-48 hours and starts working perfect. Goes through the cycle again after a week.

As advised by the forum just replaced the defrost heater assembly now the refrigerator works perfect. did not have to replace the thermostat.My nephew had exactly same problem on ge refrigerator - replaced the defrost heater assembly and the problem is solved. Just remove the back panel in the freezer compartment, disconnect the cable, remove the nuts and replace the assemble. It is very simple. Bought both assembly from parts select.com - got next day delivery. they are great. would do business in future.

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21 of 27 people found this instruction helpful

Parts Used

Defrost Heater Harness Kit

Level of DifficultyEasy

Time to do repair:30 - 60 mins

ToolsScrew drivers, Socket set

CustomerCLIFFORD from SPRING CITY PA

Freezer cold, refrigerator section warm

THE PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL IS USUALLY A BURNED OUT HEATER ASSEMBLY, WHEN THE FREEZER IS STILL FREEZING, BUT THE FRESH FOOD SECTION IS WARM. TO CHECK, FIRST DISCONNECT POWER FROM REFRIGERATOR. REMOVE FOOD AND THEN SHELVES FROM FREEZER SECTION. REMOVE THE SCREWS THAT HOLD THE BACK FREEZER PANEL IN PLACE. REMOVE BACK PANEL AND THE COILS WILL BE EXPOSED. IF THEY ARE COVERED IN ICE THE HEATER IS MOST LIKELY THE PROBLEM. AT THE BOTTOM OF THE COILS BELOW THE HEATER ASSEMBLY IS A DRAIN HOLE PLUG THIS HOLE WITH A RAG. PLACE A LARGE TOWEL IN BOTTOM OF FREEZER PAN BENEATH THE COILS TO CATCH THE WATER. I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANY METHOD TO MELT THE ICE FROM THE COILS BUT A HAIR DRYER, DO NOT CHIP AT THE ICE OR YOU WILL MOST LIKELY DAMAGE THE COILS. AFTER YOU HAVE DEFROSTED THE COILS AND REMOVED ALL WATER FROM THE UNIT, REMOVE THE TWO SCREWS THAT HOLD THE HEATER ELEMENT IN PLACE, THIS ELEMENT IS DIRECTLY BELOW THE COILS. LOOK AT THE ELEMENT, IF IT IS BURNT BLACK, THIS IS A TELL TALE SIGN IT IS BAD. IF THAT IS THE CASE IT WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED. REMOVE THE ELECTRICAL WIRES LOCATED ON TE END OF UNIT, THE NEW UNIT WILL HAVE INSTRUCTIONS WITH IT, RECONNECT THE ELECTRICAL WIRES PER INSTRUCTIONS, REMOUNT HEATER WITH THE SAME MOUNTING SCREWS THAT HELD IT IN PLACE. BE SURE TO REMOVE RAG FROM DRAIN HOLE, REPLACE BACK FREEZER PANEL WITH SCREWS, REPLACE SHELVES, AND PLUG REFRIGERATOR BACK IN. IF YOUR PROBLEM WAS A COLD FREEZER SECTION BUT A WARM FRESH FOOD SECTION THIS SHOULD FIX YOUR PROBLEM. IN CONCLUSION, THIS PROBLEM AND THE FIX FOR IT IS INDICATIVE TO THESE MODEL'S GE REFRIGERATOR'S

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23 of 36 people found this instruction helpful

Parts Used

Freezer stopped working

Came home in the morning and found that everything in the freezer was defrosted. The fridge and freezer were warm so I checked the web to see what the problem could be. After about 15 minutes I found what the two causes could be. Since the parts were so cheap, I decided to change both the defrost heater and thermastat. It's been about a week since I changed the parts and no problem.

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16 of 18 people found this instruction helpful

Parts Used

Refrigerator wasn't cooling

First I removed the two screws that hold the element in place. I then pulled the element out about 3 inches and disconnected the two wires, it was really simple. I conected the new element & defrost themostat (instuctions were included with the parts). I replaced the cover pluged the fridge in everything was woking fine. I placed a themometer in the fridge & have been watching it for 2+ weeks now it is working fine. To anyone who is looking to do this repair, on thier own, I reccomend it. It was very simple & required little to no skill. No reasopn to throw away money to call a repair man.

De-iced cover and removed two phillips head screws and two 1/4 " nutdriver screws to expose coil, defrost heater and defrost thermostat. Deiced the coil and surrounding area with a heat gun. Removed two screws that hold the defrost heater in place, disconnected the wires to the original heater. The original assy. was a single quartz and the new one was a double quartz. This required rerouting the left wire along with the right one, but was no problem as the wire was plenty long enough. Re-installed the assy. with the two screws. I replaced the defrost termination thermostat, even though it tested good, because I have had experience in that it would be the next to go, and not to in-convenience the owner in unloading the fridge a second time. The only difficult part was fitting into the freezer compartment. As usual, order by 3p.m. and shipping is the same day and is a real joy to use Partselect.com

14 of 16 people found this instruction helpful

Parts Used

Loss of refrigeration

After mopping up the floor - the whole freezer that was iced up melted - that's how I found out about the problem...

Disconnected the power, emptied the freezer, removed the shelves. Under the ice maker was the light cover - I removed that first, then the two screws holding the back panel in place - The light panel was covering the top screw.

With the screws removed, I pulled out the back panel - which needs to be jiggled around a bit to get it past the shelf brackets.

With the cover off, I could see the mostly de-iced coil at the back of the unit. The defrost heater was visible at the bottom of the coil frame. To remove the bracket/heater, I removed the two cross head screws (one on each side) holding the bracket to the coil frame. I then twisted the side tabs of the bracket assembly and pulled the entire bracket/heater/wiring from the coil frame.

With better access tot he bracket/heater I was able to disconnect the wires. I grabbed the new bracket/heater, reattached the wires and pushed the bracket/heater back onto the coil frame and closed the side tabs firmly attaching the bracket to the frame. I then screwed the tabs back onto the frame.

Replaced the back panel, screwed it in place. Put back the light cover and then the shelves. Turned the appliance back on and left it for a few hours - before checking to see if there was any drop in temperature. There was, so after 24 hours or so I reloaded all the food...

NOTE: I was certain that the heater had failed! When I pulled the OLD one out it was obviously burned out - the glass tube was blackened and pieces of the element could be seen in the bottom of the tube.

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13 of 15 people found this instruction helpful

Parts Used

Wouldn't defrost

Unplugged refrigerator, removed cover, defrosted with heat gun, replaced Defrost Thermostat, and replaced single element with double element Defrost Heater. All went very well with minimal difficulty, and instructions that accompanied parts along with the instructional video on your site, made the repair quite easy. The repair is going on the 4th week now, and no freeze up yet.

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10 of 11 people found this instruction helpful

Parts Used

Defrost Heater Harness Kit

Level of DifficultyA Bit Difficult

Time to do repair:30 - 60 mins

ToolsNutdriver, Screw drivers

Customerxiaopeng from canton MI

Defrost heater burned out. Lots of ice in and ont he evaporator. Both breezer and refrigerator do not cool right.

Disconnected power. Removed evaporator cover in freezer. Removed the bad defrost heater. It is a glass tube about 10" long. The tube was black since the internal heater wire burned out. Use a hair dryer to melt ice in evaporator. Since there was excessive water coming from melt ice, I removed the back panel and took out the white plastic drain tube and collected water from the tube in a bucket. I put everything back and used the refrigerator for three days without problem, before the new heater arrived. Then I put on the new tube and everything was fine so far.

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11 of 15 people found this instruction helpful

Parts Used

It would freeze up and then it would not cool.

First I unplugged the refrigerator, then I had to open up the back of the freezer, use the hair dryer to defrost the ice that had built up in it. Then I unscrewed the screws on both ends of the existing heater unplugged the old heater and plugged in the new one. Then with the sensor, I cut and stripped the 2 wires attached to the old sensor 1 inch away from the sensor. Then I spliced it with the wires on the new sensor, applied wire nut and black tape tightly. Then I put it all back together.